1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to commercial leaf vacuum and mulching apparatus and more particularly to a tractor PTO driven leaf vacuum apparatus with mulching and directional dispersion capability attached to the tractor in a three-point hitch arrangement.
2. General Background
Large acreage, such as tree farms, orchards, and golf courses, are in constant need of maintenance due to fallen leaves, small twigs, etc. In addition to being unsightly, such debris tends to cover the ground, thereby retarding grass growth while producing a fire hazard.
It is well known that leaves and fine debris provide excellent mulch when broken down into fine particles, preventing evaporation of moisture, and adding humus to the soil. Therefore, it is advantageous for the leaves and fine debris to remain in and around trees provided their bulk can be broken down into very fine particles and dispersed evenly over the earth.
Various apparatus have been developed for collecting by seeping or vacuuming leaves and other such debris and reducing their particle size and re-depositing them back on the ground or into some type of towed container for transport and disposal at a remote site.
The prior art vacuum and/or mulching apparatus are generally associated with grass cutting mowers and are usually towable behind relatively small lawn type tractors and are self-powered. That is to say that most such apparatus have an onboard engine, thereby allowing for a flexible turning radius for the towed apparatus. Further, such mulching apparatus are generally associated with belly mowers located below the towing tractor type vehicle whereby the mulching system, having a blower for creating a vacuum, is connected to the belly mower of a lawn tractor by a large hose for collecting grass clippings, as well as leaves, stirred up by the mower""s blade. The hose, as well as the mulching apparatus trailer, makes the system very hard to maneuver around trees and obstacles. A rotor located within the shredding apparatus having a plurality of flails or rotating blades serve to further shred the debris prior to disposition. However, although the need to reduce the debris into fine particles is recognized by the prior art, there is very little indication of just how fine the particles should be and very little agreement about how particle size reduction should be accomplished. Therefore, it is assumed that it is advantageous to reduce the debris to as small a particle size as possible, thereby making the debris virtually invisible when dispersed back on the ground. Many of the prior art mulching apparatus are incapable of such fine particle size reduction.
Devices that serve strictly as a vacuum type apparatus, such as those disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,105,803, and 5,085,376 are towable or push type apparatus with onboard engines and rely on either the internal fan for both vacuuming and shredding the debris or a blower fan in combination with rotating spokes for shredding and expelling the debris.
The prior art, when taken as a whole, tends to teach the concept of collecting and dispersing leaves and twigs mostly combined with lawn clippings on a relatively small scale when time is not a factor but fails to address the need for speed and maneuverability over large acreage where man hours are limited. In such cases it is essential that a leaf mulching apparatus be efficient and adaptive to existing high-speed equipment, be capable of covering large acreage in a short time span, and also be highly maneuverable.
The instant invention is principally a leaf vacuum and mulching implement for attachment by three-point-hitch to a farm tractor and driven by mechanical connection to the tractor""s power tack-off unit (PTO) or by a hydraulic motor driven by the tractor""s auxiliary hydraulic system. The implement utilizes a broad vacuum deck having polymeric skirts in near proximity with the ground and a floating three-point-hitch system for lifting the vacuum deck and allowing it to follow the ground contour. High velocity fans blow debris collected by the vacuum deck into a unique, rotating, multifaceted, conical shredding rotor prior to directional dispersion.